Pre-Appoved - woohoo!

[Megan Phillips]

Hi all - so some good news, I am officially pre-approved for a mortgage so I can begin to check out some properties (in VT) with a realtor once I select one! I'm not entirely sure I've got what I need for down payment/closing, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there!

What are some things you wish you would've looked for or known when you were a first time buyer for a multi-unit (even for single family homes)? Maybe not necessarily physical structure related (but I'll take those too) - maybe just a hiccup along the way that you didn't consider thinking about, just so I have expectations/preparations. 

When you purchase a property - do you let leases continue or always get your own tenants?

When did you create your LLC for your property (and any other tips about how to keep yourself/business organized) - before you purchased? Should I be doing that already?

I'm pretty sure I'm going to use a property management company for dealing with a majority of the property issues - pros/cons

Literally any other info you think is useful for someone that is BRAND NEW to the real estate investment game.

Thanks, happy Monday!

[Michael Cohen]

3% is a pretty low estimate on closing costs. Maybe it's different in VT, but here in MD, DC, VA region, you'd realistically be looking at 4% to 5.5% in closing costs. On an FHA loan, allowable Sellers Concession goes up to 6%, so they can cover all of your closing costs though.